Keeping Our Children Safe | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights

Keeping Our Children Safe | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights:

Keeping Our Children Safe

by NEA Health Information Network

By Nora L Howley, Manager of Programs, NEA Health Information Network
Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Moore, Oklahoma, and the surrounding area.
We mourn the tragic loss of lives and homes and livelihoods, even as we wonder at the acts of heroism by educators and members of the community who worked to protect and rescue hundreds of students and neighbors.
The tragedy in Oklahoma reminds us that bad things can happen. Keeping our children safe in school is all of our responsibility. Everyone in a school community needs to be at the table in planning since there is a role for everyone in a crisis.
Because no two events will ever be the same, it is essential for school communities to create an emergency preparedness plan that has the flexibility to meet different needs. Certainly, a plan should address steps to prevent crises, but prevention is not enough. Comprehensive emergency preparedness plans incorporate prevention, response, and recovery. In other words, the plan should represent a process that carries a community from anticipating possible crises to managing them.
Emergency preparedness plans recognize that:
read more

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Lipstick on a pig. The UNO makeover is complete

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Lipstick on a pig. The UNO makeover is complete:

Lipstick on a pig. The UNO makeover is complete

by Mike Klonsky

New board chair, Cabrera (right) says Rangel (left) will stay on as UNO boss, saying there is “no one more suitable to be CEO.”   John H. White~Sun-Times

“I am here today to apologize. "I have failed." -- Juan Rangel
" Oh that's funny. Oh please stop Juan. Oh, my side hurts from laughing..."  -- Mike Klonsky

In one of the largest and most outlandish school/political swindles of our time, the clout-heavy charter hustlers at UNO have made a few cosmetic changes in order to keep millions in taxpayer dollars flowing into their coffers.Gov. Quinn, Speaker Madigan and Mayor Emanuel are all playing along with the charade.

With investigators snooping around, Quinn had suspended all remaining payments from a $98 million school construction grant after the Chicago Sun-Times reported that $8.5 million of the state funding went to companies 

In Chicago: The Every School Solidarity Picnic | The Network For Public Education

In Chicago: The Every School Solidarity Picnic | The Network For Public Education:

In Chicago: The Every School Solidarity Picnic

by admin

By Michelle Strater Gunderson
In Chicago we have food deserts, large patches of our city where there is not a grocery store in sight. We also have transportation deserts, outstretches of our town where you cannot get anywhere without a car. Now, with the closing of 50 schools we have education deserts. What does a community do when it has been systematically devastated?
This was our overarching question when we met with parents, students, educators and activists. Our conclusion – we need to plant gardens, an act of hopefulness and awareness. That was the thinking behind our Every School Solidarity Picnic held on Memorial Day in the heart of our city, Millennium Park.
The flower garden installation was the brainchild of activist and art educator, Ellen Gradman. She explained its significance. “Our schools need to be guarded from the reformers that are destroying education. I want observers to stop and think about the community that nurtured and cared for their school. I want to acknowledge the families that will be uprooted – like a flower pulled from the earth and discarded.”
During the action families shared a picnic meal together, sang freedom songs, played with bubbles, and wrote with sidewalk chalk. The cornerstones of the action were the letters and flowers created by participants that will be sent to Illinois legislators and Governor Quinn asking them to support the passage of the School Closing Moratorium Bills. There were also deputized voter registrars on hand to register new voters.
Despite the objections of more than 30,000 people who spoke against school closings at public meetings and 

Gates dollars fuel effort to bring charter schools to Washington | OregonLive.com

Gates dollars fuel effort to bring charter schools to Washington | OregonLive.com:

Gates dollars fuel effort to bring charter schools to Washington

by The Associated Press

SEATTLE — With the opening of Washington's first charter school likely 15 months away, more dollars from Seattle's tech economy are flowing toward groups that want to change the way the state thinks about public schools.

In November, Washington became the 42nd state to allow the independent public schools. The initiative campaign succeeded in part because of money from Seattle's tech economy -- Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates donated $3 million, outside his charitable foundation, first for the signature gathering effort and later to promote the initiative. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen donated $1.5 million.

The voter-approved plan would open as many as 40 charter schools over five years.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has now pledged nearly $800,000 to start a new charter school incubator to give charter schools extra help with startup planning. Run by the League of Education Voters, the Charter Schools Association will begin by helping groups that want to start a charter school write their application.

Eventually the group also hopes provide leadership training and advocate for charter schools in Washington state government, said Chris Korsmo, CEO of the League of Education Voters. Charter school incubators like this new Washington group are common in other states where the schools are gaining a foothold, experts say.

The Gates money was a startup grant to get the organization going, but Korsmo expects the organization will get money from other sources, including out-of-state foundations.

Opponents of charter schools say they have a mixed track record in other states and there are no guarantees that the ones that open here would be successful. They also 

Why America Needs An Education Spring:

Why America Needs An Education Spring

Well, someone in the mainstream media finally had to ask the question.

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes, on his “All In” program on May 24, covered the forced closing of 50 public schools in Chicago – the largest incident ofmass school closings in the nation’s history.

Joining Hayes were Karen Lewis, head of the Chicago Teachers’ Union, and education professor Pedro Noguera to discuss the rationale for the closures. Lewis said school administrators and Mayor Rahm Emanuelchanged the rationale for the closings so many times that the case had become “murky.” Noguera declared the closings were “not a solution” for fixing or “reforming” schools.

Then Hayes dropped this: “Is this a strategy to – I’ll put it on the table: School closings as a strategy to kill public education?”

Good Question!

Neither Lewis nor Noguero answered the question directly. And it’s hard to imagine Emanuel or any of his surrogates on the board of Chicago Public Schools admitting they aim to “kill public education.”

But when political leaders push policies that have no track record of success and are obviously senseless – Noguero mocked the whole notion of school closures as a solution to education failure by asking, “If we had 

Diane in the Evening 5-28-13Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all:

Florida: Once Again, Test Results Are Over-hyped

by dianerav

Matthew Di Carlo takes a close look at the latest test scores released in Florida.
His bottom line: don’t believe the press release.
For one thing, the test specifications have changed, and the scores are not really comparable to prior years.
Di Carlo points out:
“Accordingly, the technical documentation for the FCAT notes (in bold-faced type) that “caution should be used

North Carolina Passes Voucher Bill

by dianerav

On a vote of 27-21, the North Carolina House Education Committee passed a voucher bill (called, euphemistically, “opportunity scholarships”).
As the article linked above notes, private school vouchers will siphon a minimum of $100 million from the public schools over the next three years.
In her summary, Lindsay Wagner of NC Policy Watch reports that one supporter of the bill likened school choice

Was I Unfair to Ben Austin?

by dianerav

You may recall the story about Irma Cobian, the elementary school principal who was forced out after Parent Revolution collected signatures from parents, employing the “parent trigger” law that it (Parent Revolution) had sponsored in 2010.
The headline in the LA Times read:  ”Popular Principal’s Dismissal Leaves a South L.A. School Divided.”
The story began thus:
“Third-grade teacher Kate Lewis said Irma Cobian is the best principal she’s had in nine years at Weigand Avenue Elementary School in Watts.

“Joseph Shamel called Cobian a “godsend” who has used her mastery of special education to show him how to craft effective learning plans for his students.
“Los Angeles Unified Supt. John Deasy praised a plan developed by Cobian and her team to turn around the struggling campus — where most students test below grade level in reading and math — calling it a “well-

Rhode Island: Teachers Oppose Gist, Business Leaders Support Her

by dianerav

This is the kind of result you expect to read in a red state.
85% of teachers voted to show their opposition o Commissioner ageist.
The business community supports her.
The students oppose her.
Civil rights groups

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 5-28-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Teaching in a World of Noise, Disruption, and Distraction by dianerav High school teacher Frank Breslin explains how the constant distractions of our society undermine students’ ability to concentrate or even pay attention to what happens in school. Breslin reminds me of Diana Senechal’s wonderful book “The Republic of Noise.” If you haven’t read it, you should. Breslin writes: “A factor over which teachers have no control and that plays an enormous role in makin... more »

Some state lawmakers push back against new common core standards for reading, writing and math - The Washington Post

Some state lawmakers push back against new common core standards for reading, writing and math - The Washington Post:

Some state lawmakers push back against new common core standards for reading, writing and math

By Associated Press, Updated: Tuesday, May 28, 12:53 AM

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Some states are pushing back against a set of uniform benchmarks for reading, writing and math that have been fully adopted in most states and are being widely put in place this school year.

The new Common Core standards replace a hodgepodge of educational goals that had varied greatly from state to state. The federal government was not involved in the state-led effort to develop them but has encouraged the project.

While proponents say the new standards will better prepare students, critics worry they’ll set a national curriculum for public schools rather than letting states decide what is best for their students.

There was little dissent when the standards were widely adopted in 2010, but that begun changing last year and debate picked up steam this year. The standards have divided 

Pension Money Casinos: Just Say NO! | Reclaim Reform

Pension Money Casinos: Just Say NO! | Reclaim Reform:

Pension Money Casinos: Just Say NO!

by kenpreviti

Your legislators are giving away your pensions to casino owners.

No, your legislators did not lose the money gambling. The casino owners who contributed to the campaign funds of legislators are being handed the money that was supposed to go into the pension funds of teachers and other public employees.
“Until Illinois taxpayers wake up and realize that they are subsidizing gambling interests at the expense of teachers, firefighters and police officers, then public employees in the state of Illinois will continue to see reductions in their salaries, pensions and earned benefits,” John Kindt said. “The net result is that everyone suffers when Big Gambling is involved.”
Who says so? Where is the proof? It’s right HERE.

Who knew about this? How long has this been going on?
“But nowhere in this so-called historical record is there any mention of the tens of billions of dollars legally given 

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Tuesday, May 28, 2013

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

Fensterwald: Assembly adds its version of school finance reform to the mix

Education Headlines

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

San Diego teachers reject buyouts

The latest offer of $25,000 buyouts has been canceled by the district due to a lack of interest among teachers.

Ramona parents try to bridge gap in labor standoff

Six parents were so frustrated by increasing rhetoric and conflicting information in the drawn-out labor dispute between teachers and the Ramona Unified School District that they set out to determine for themselves and other parents what’s fact and fiction.

Newly appointed board member bit of a mystery

The 49-year-old Midura was appointed last week by a 5-1 vote of Stockton Unified's board to serve the remaining 19 months of the late Sara Cazares' term. He is scheduled to be sworn in at the start of tonight's school-board meeting.

Only 1-in-3 kids pass all parts of physical fitness test, says state

More than two-thirds of the state's students are lagging well behind when it comes to being physically fit. For the second year in a row, only one student in three got passing grades in the state physical fitness test.

Desert Sands Unified School District's workers opt out of insurance for cash

As rising health insurance costs have taken a bite out of teacher paychecks, prompting protests in the Desert Sands Unified School District, a growing number of employees are trading their coverage for cash.

Desert Sands Unified school board member's 'cash out' draws fire

Desert Sands Unified school board vice president Michael Duran has collected $22,500 in tax-sheltered deposits over the last three years in lieu of health coverage, according to district documents reviewed by The Desert Sun. Duran’s deposits have drawn criticism from the teacher’s union, who believes the health insurance opt out program was never meant for school board members.

Ramona parents try to bridge gap in labor standoff

Six parents were so frustrated by increasing rhetoric and conflicting information in the drawn-out labor dispute between teachers and the Ramona Unified School District that they set out to determine for themselves and other parents what’s fact and fiction.

SD teachers reject buyouts

San Diego Unified’s most seasoned educators are resisting the district’s efforts to nudge them off the payroll, raising questions about a budget plan that relies on the elimination of jobs left vacant through attrition.

MENIFEE: Santa Rosa Academy preps for big move

The students of Menifee’s Santa Rosa Academy will get an extra few weeks off this summer while construction crews build their new, permanent campus. The first day of school for the 2013-14 school year will be Sept. 9, a few weeks later than past years, to give workers more time, said Laura Badillo, the school’s executive director. The project includes about 63,000 square feet of space, including more than 40 classrooms and a library and technology center.

Fremont teachers and school district reach tentative agreement on new contract

The teachers' union and the school district have reached an agreement on a new contract that will give instructors their first salary raise since 2007.

San Jose teachers, district agree to landmark contract

In a groundbreaking contract, the San Jose Unified School District and its teachers union have agreed to peg pay increases to teaching skill rather than college credits, create a career ladder for outstanding teachers and slow the advancement of ineffective teachers -- or ultimately fire them.

Diabetes in California schools: Legal battle over insulin shots goes before state's high court

In a legal showdown set to be heard Wednesday, the California Supreme Court will consider arguments from the nurses' union and other allies, including the state's teachers' union, who contend that under state law only licensed school employees can give insulin shots to children.

California releases annual school rankings based on API scores

The state on Friday released its annual list of K-12 school rankings based on student performance on standardized tests, revealing little in the way of surprise for the South Bay and Harbor Area, where nearly 60 percent of the schools surpassed the statewide average.

Popular principal's dismissal leaves a South L.A. school divided

Irma Cobian was highly regarded at Weigand Avenue Elementary in Watts. But under California's 2010 trigger law, she was ousted last week. "It devastated our morale," one teacher said.

Fensterwald: Assembly adds its version of school finance reform to the mix

The Assembly has produced its own version of Gov. Jerry Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula, further complicating the governor’s goal of passing school finance reform as part of the new state budget by July 1.

Torrance Unified leads opposition to Gov. Brown's proposed education funding overhaul

Gov. Jerry Brown's proposal to fundamentally revamp the way schools are funded isn't pitting Republicans vs. Democrats so much as it is pitting suburban districts against urban ones - and leaders in Torrance are playing a key role in organizing the statewide opposition.

Maitre: School leaders say Oakland’s community school movement will continue, even without Tony Smith

Oakland schools Superintendent Tony, Smith has stunned fellow educators by announcing that he will leave the district in June, raising questions about whether his community school initiative will be sustained after his departure.

Friday, May 24, 2013

Chino Valley Unified approves salary increase for top employees

All assistant superintendents were given a "step" or raise increase of $5,612 except for the facilities planning and operations employee. In addition to board members Andrew Cruz and Irene Hernandez-Blair voting against the increase, a number of certificated employees voiced their disappointment over the agenda item.

Exit interviews a new grad requirement

A new graduation requirement in the Murrieta Valley Unified School District this year calls for all 12th-graders to successfully complete a senior exit interview.

Linden Unified superintendent placed on paid leave

Linden Unified School District Superintendent Michael Gonzales was placed on paid administrative leave Thursday night, roughly two hours after the last Linden High graduate crossed the stage to mark the end of the 2012-13 school year.

Healthy Eating: In Fulton Schools, It's All About the Marketing — Whole Child Education

Healthy Eating: In Fulton Schools, It's All About the Marketing — Whole Child Education:

THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG

Healthy Eating: In Fulton Schools, It’s All About the Marketing

May 24, 2013 by Ruth Taylor

The Challenge

The school nutrition program at Fulton County Schools in Atlanta, Ga., already goes above and beyond U.S. federal nutrition standards, serving 50 percent whole grains and plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. The challenge was how to get to the next step: getting kids to actually select the healthy foods. After all, food isn't nutritious until it's eaten. The problem was not about changing menus or the food offered, as the menus and the food choices are already healthy. As area supervisor of Fulton County School Nutrition, my challenge was, how do we engage the students to want to eat healthfully? I believe it's about marketing the food.

The Solution

Rather than re-create the wheel to get kids to put healthy foods on their lunch trays, Fulton County is using existing community resources. Last spring I reached out to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA), one of the largest clinical providers of pediatric health care in the United States, and found they wanted to help 

UPDATE: Refuting the Status Quo of Ed Deform Ed Notes Online: Assaulting the Walls of Ed Deform, NYSUT June 8 "One Voice" Critiqued

Ed Notes Online: Assaulting the Walls of Ed Deform, NYSUT June 8 "One Voice" Critiqued:

The Next Phase in Refuting the Status Quo of Ed Deform: Offering Alternative Assessments

by ed notes online

With the turn against ed deform the resistance needs to begin to offer alternatives to the status quo. And how nice to turn the old SQ tables on the deformers who have been seeing things going their way since c. 1994 in Chicago. I even heard that Arne Duncan was forced to defend his disastrous turn as Supe of Chicago schools for 7 years by claiming he reduced testing. We must keep focusing on the testing battle since it is the force that unites teachers, parents, students, academics and all rational and sensible people.

Monte Neill sent this from Fair Test as a follow up to what we posted yesterday (The assessment reform movement continues to gather steam).

Assessment that Supports Education

Recently, Boston area students and teachers organized an excellent conference, “Creating the Schools We Deserve.” It focused on what schools should be like and how we can win them. The conversations made clear that most people have never had the privilege of experiencing the kind of 

Assaulting the Walls of Ed Deform, NYSUT June 8 "One Voice" Critiqued

by ed notes online

"One voice" is more about drowning out  the people's voice with a droll compliant whimper in true Weingartian style.... This is not a social justice rally.  This is a 'let's make believe we care' rally. It's play acting by the AFT/NYSUT/UFT gang.  We can play along, relieved that at least they are doing something, but their "something" is really business as usual.  --- Sean Ahern (see below for full text).

NYSUT Press release: Rally in Albany June 8.

Members of the more than one dozen organizations will join other parents, teachers and educators in speaking out against the state’s over-emphasis on standardized testing and misuse of test data to improperly label students and teachers. Rally-goers will call for a moratorium on the use of standardized tests in high-stakes decisions for students and teachers until the State Education Department and Regents properly implement the state’s new Common Core learning standards.

Well we know all about NYSUT/AFT/UFT and their role as enablers. When the water is at the top of the wall they decide to stick their finger in the dyke.

I know many people opposed to the testing regime who are going. And people in MORE are working on organizing. The UFT has buses available.

I am on the fence -- for a number of reasons from inconvenience to doubts about jumping on a NYSUT/UFT 

Arthur Goldstein, Gary Rubinstein to be Honored at Skinny Awards Dinner, June 18

by ed notes online

Wow! What a twosome in the blogging world and beyond. Has anyone accomplished more in the battle over ed deform than Leonie Haimson over the past decade?

I just bought my ticket. If light and sound are decent I might tape it.

I might as well use Diane Ravitch's posting.

Please Attend the Skinny Awards in NYC by dianerav

If you are within driving distance of New York City, please come to the Skinny Awards.

I will be there, along with many other friends of public education.

The Skinny Awards are the opposite of the Broad Awards, which are given to urban districts and charter schools that raise test scores. The Skinny Awards recognize character, courage, valor, and integrity in support of sound education ideas.

Leonie Haimson is the genius behind the Skinny Awards.

Benefits go to Class Size Matters, which advocates for reduced class size, opposes invasion of student privacy, and supports teachers and public schools. Leonie runs Class Size Matters on something less than a shoestring.

Here is the announcement:

Please attend our Fifth annual “Skinny Awards” Class Size Matters fundraiser

And enjoy a four-course dinner with wine

When: Tuesday June 18 at 6 PM

Where: FAGIOLINI ON 40TH, 120 E. 40th St. (betw. Lexington and 3rd Ave.)

Purchase your tickets here.

Each year we give an award to the individuals who provide the real "Skinny" on NYC schools. Past recipients of the award include Diane Ravitch and Juan Gonzalez. This year, our “Skinny” award will go to two brilliant teacher/bloggers:

Arthur Goldstein,  an ESL teacher at Francis Lewis High School in Queens

Gary Rubinstein, who blogs at Teach for Us and is a math teacher at Stuyvesant HS in lower Manhattan

This dinner is always a highlight of the year, with delicious food, good wine, and great company.

This year, it is especially important to attend and/or contribute to our work. As always, Class Size Matters relies on your donations to keep our organization going. We have continued to advocate for smaller classes and an end to school overcrowding, as class sizes swell throughout the country. We also have become leaders in the fight against high-stakes testing, privatization, and the violation of student privacy.

Nationally, we spearheaded the battle against the sharing of confidential student data with a corporation called inBloom Inc. inBloom Inc. plans to put children’s personal information on a vulnerable data cloud, and share it with private vendors without parental notification or consent.

For the last few months, the tabloids and corporate reform blogs have featured attacks against me personally, evidence of the prominent role that Class Size Matters plays in the debate over education policy. One of the best ways to show your support for our work is to contribute whatever you can to keep our organization alive.

If you believe that class size matters, and that it is important to keep our public schools and children’s personal information out of the hands of private corporations, please make tax-deductible contribution now to Class Size Matters and/or purchase a seat at our fundraiser dinner June 18 by clicking here or here:http://www.nycharities.org/events/EventLevels.aspx?ETID=6292 .

Please forward to others who care and hope to see you there, Leonie

Leonie Haimson
Executive Director
Class Size Matters
124 Waverly Pl.
New York, NY 10011
212-674-7320

leonie@classsizematters.org
http://www.classsizematters.org

http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leonie-haimson

Follow me on twitter @leoniehaimson

Make a tax-deductible contribution to Class Size Matters now!

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